LOGINCHARLOTTE “Stop!” I coughed, choking on thick black smoke as the rogue yanked my arm, dragging me across the floor. Heat burt at my back, creeping closer with every breath. The wooden beams above groaned, then split, letting loose a fresh rain of burning embers that scattered across the stone.“Move!” the rogue snarled, his voice hoarse. He wasn’t immune either, his eyes were red, watering, his skin damp with sweat and soot. “The whole damn place is coming down!”Another coughing fit racked my chest. My lungs burned so painfully I thought they were being scraped raw. I twisted, searching through the chaosand I saw Jeffery fighting three warriors who were desperately trying to hold him back. His eyes glowed a fierce, wild gold, his body trembling with the raw urge to shift even though the suppressant powder still clung to him like damnation.“CHARLOTTE!” His voice ripped through the flames, desperate, broken.“I’m here!” I screamed back, reaching for him even as the rogue tugged hard
CHARLOTTE For a moment, all I heard was the ringing in my ears, the echo of Jeffrey’s growl, the scrape of metal against stone, the rasp of my own uneven breathing. Then, slowly, footsteps emerged from the darkness beyond the corridor.Liam slid across the damp floor before the man himself stepped into the rays of the torchlight.He moved with calm arrogance, dusting his hands as though he was arriving at a party rather than a dungeon filled with blood. His lips curled upward into a smile that made my stomach twist painfully.Then he started clapping.Slow, mocking claps that bounced off the stone walls and crawled under my skin.“Little brother,” he drawled, his voice slick with amusement and venom. “Always ruining the fun.”Jeffrey stiffened, muscles coiling, eyes glowing with murderous rage as he shoved the rogue away and pushed to his feet. His chest heaved with every breath, sweat and blood mixed together as they flow down his skin.He didn’t look at Liam.He looked at me. And t
ALPHA JEFFREY The moment I stepped into the dungeon corridor, the stench of blood, damp stone, and fear crashed into me like a physical force. My vision blurred at the edges, my wolf clawing viciously beneath my skin, begging to be released. But I couldn't shift. Not here. Not now. The corridor was too narrow. One wrong movement and I would crush her.My gaze locked instantly on Charlotte.She was pinned in front of the foreign wolf, his arm wrapped around her, pulling her back against his chest while the blade in his hand pressed hard against her stomach. Too hard. Hard enough that the sharp tip pierced her skin, drawing a thin bead of blood that slid slowly down her abdomen.My heart stopped. My entire world stopped.A growl ripped from my chest before I could hold it back, low and instinctive, the sound of a creature seconds away from murder. My claws pushed through my fingertips, my fangs ached to lengthen.But I forced myself still. I couldn't afford to lose control at this poin
CHARLOTTE The door creaked open with a slow, heavy groan that seemed to drag through the entire dungeon, and every instinct inside me jolted awake. My breath caught. My legs trembled. I pressed myself back against the freezing stone wall, trying to create distance that didn’t exist because the chains dug sharply into my wrists, reminding me I wasn’t going anywhere.Water dripped steadily from the ceiling, echoing through the dark, suffocating space. The faint torch outside my cell barely illuminated anything, so when the stranger stepped inside, he entered like a shadow with a body—tall, broad, and masked. His boots splashed through the shallow water pooled across the dungeon floor, each step sending ripples toward me.I felt my heart race so hard I thought it might tear through my ribs.He paused a few feet away, sniffing the air like a predator picking up a scent. His voice came out low and rough.“You. Are you the puppet he keeps down here?”For a second, I couldn’t even speak. My
CHARLOTTE The sound of dripping water pulled me out of unconsciousness.At first, I didn’t even know where I was. My mind felt foggy, like someone had stuffed cotton into my skull. My eyelids were heavy, glued shut, but as soon as I pried them open, a sharp jolt of awareness shot through me.Cold water touched my cheek.I jolted upright in shock.The floor beneath me was already flooded. A thin layer of icy water covered the entire dungeon floor, rippling softly every time I moved. My clothes clung to my skin, heavy, soaked through. I pushed myself onto my knees and tried to squeeze the fabric dry, but the water kept dripping from the ceiling in thin, relentless streams.My breath shook out of me. “Goddess… how long was I out?”The dungeon smelled of rust and mold. The air was cold enough to bite my bones. My wrists, scraped raw by chains earlier, throbbed painfully. Every part of me ached.My eyes moved to the steel bars of the dungeon door. Empty. Silent.Liam wasn’t here.My heart
CHARLOTTE The first thing I felt was the unbearable pain.And then I felt the cold metal biting into my wrists, digging into my skin, pulling my arms upward until my shoulders screamed in pain. My head throbbed, my vision blurry, my throat raw as if I had been screaming before I even woke up.A torch crackled somewhere close, then another, and another, until the heat of flames licked my cheeks.When my vision finally sharpened, I realized exactly where I was. The auction hall.The same hell I had stood in once before… except now it was worse. So much worse.I was upright, chained to a tall metal pillar on a raised platform. And below me were rows and rows of rogue alphas, all gathered like predators at a feast. The hall buzzed with snarls, laughter, the scrape of boots, the clink of gold coins.They weren’t here to buy weapons or supplies. They were here to bid on wolves. And Liam had put me on display just to spite Jeffery.My stomach twisted. A wave of nausea hit me so hard I almos







